Matthew Williams’ aggressive mindset and well-reasoned approach to litigation have routinely produced favorable verdicts and results for his clients. A skilled negotiator and litigator, Matt is adept at quickly and efficiently evaluating claims to assist the client in deciding whether the matter should be resolved early or taken through trial. Serving on the firm’s Emergency Response Team, Matt is no stranger to meeting the needs of his clients at all hours of the day or night. This commitment to 24/7, on-site emergency response allows Matt to immerse himself in the earliest stages of a claim, gathering details and witness reactions that help clients anticipate the demands of the claim and position their defense. Understanding that the claim belongs to the client, not him, Matt actively engages and collaborates with his clients in all phases of the claim, ensuring that his clients’ needs and wants are meaningfully addressed.
Having successfully tried cases throughout Mississippi and Alabama, Matt’s practice is primarily focused in the areas of first- and third-party insurance defense, trucking and transportation, employer’s liability, professional liability, and construction. Matt has also served as local counsel to some of the largest insurance carriers in the country and abroad, and is also often called on to represent his clients’ interests in corporate acquisitions and other transactional matters.
Matt joined Galloway after having already established his presence in Mississippi. A native of Pascagoula, Matt has remained a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast. Recognizing the need to give back to the community that has helped shape his career, Matthew has remained professionally and civically active. He is a member of the Mobile County, Harrison County, and Jackson County Bar Associations; the Jackson County Young Lawyers Association and the Russell, Blass, Walker chapter of the American Inns of Court. In 2012, and again in 2014, he was honored with an appointment by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Ocean Springs to serve as Vice-President of the city’s Economic Development Council. Additionally, Matt serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Back Bay Mission, a local non-profit aimed at eradicating poverty along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and is a member of the premier organization for defense lawyers, the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel.
Representative Matters
- Received a favorable decision from the Mississippi Supreme Court, affirming the trial court’s directed verdict in favor of Galloway’s client, a trucking company, on the issue of punitive damages.
- An appellate court upheld the validity of a chancellor’s appointment of a conservator to an estate and found that the conservator substantially complied with statutory conservatorship requirements.
- An appellate court denied an interlocutory appeal pertaining to summary judgment in a premises case involving the failure of an elevator that caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
- An appellate court upheld summary judgment in a case where the plaintiff claimed to have been assaulted and robbed in a casino parking lot.
- An appellate court upheld the trial court’s denial of withdrawal of admissions and granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, an apartment complex, in a case involving death in an apartment fire.
- An appellate court upheld summary judgment based upon the plaintiff’s failure to timely respond to requests for admissions and denial of the plaintiff’s motion to withdraw admissions in a case where the plaintiff suffered catastrophic injuries after colliding with the rear of a tractor-trailer.
- An appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the defendants as a result of (1) the plaintiff’s failure to state a claim for which relief could be afforded under Mississippi law; and (2) for insufficiency of service of process in light of the plaintiff’s failure to strictly comply with Mississippi’s rules regarding service by publication.
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a Jackson, Mississippi restaurant in a case where the plaintiff was claiming to have been shot in the restaurant’s parking lot. Additionally, the court awarded sanctions against the paraplegic plaintiff and in favor of Galloway’s client related to discovery violations committed by the Plaintiff during the course of litigation.
